“What the hell are you doing here?” I growled.
“Dear brother.” Benedict regained his composure and tilted his head in a condescending nod. “I appear to have wandered into the wrong room.”
“Twins!” the man with a drink resting atop his paunch guffawed. He took a drink, adding into his cup, “How entertaining!”
“How rude of an interruption,” the blonde-haired woman countered.
“Yes,” Demery agreed. “Lads, take your dispute outside.”
“No,” Slader cut in, his voice cold and decisive. “Mr. Samuel Rosser, sit back down. Mr. Benedict Rosser, be on your way.”
Benedict glanced from me to Mary to Slader, then proffered a short bow. “Sir.”
Just like that, Benedict was gone and I remained on my feet, glaring a hole into the door.
“Sit down,” Slader grated. “What is wrong with you?”
I obeyed but did not explain. Mary was staring after Benedict too, but as I sat she looked back at me. She reached a hand up to the base of her throat and refocused on Demery.
The revelation that I had a twin had not ruffled her. She had already known. And those marks on her neck? The sudden change in how she looked at me?
That was Benedict. What had he told her? What had he done to her?
What had he compelled her to do?
It took all my willpower to stay in my chair as Demery talked on, the company posed questions, and numbers began to pass between the pirate and potential investors. Mary remained next to him, the reminder of the pirate’s ability to complete his proposed venture. But her attention was somewhere else.
Finally, the meeting dispersed. Those uninterested in investing left while three remained, signing a document that Demery produced. Then they too vanished, and Slader and I were alone with Demery, Grant and Mary.
“I assume you’re here about Lirr,” Demery said, pulling up a chair in front of Slader and offering a bottle.
Slader held out his glass, and the pirate refilled it. “Well, I am certainly not here to give you money for rum and barley.”
Demery smiled at that. “Ah, well, pirate hunter, pirate—neither of our businesses are as lucrative as they once were. Not in these northern seas, at least, between the Navies and the weather.”
My captain smiled wolfishly. “That depends which pirate you hunt. Your hoard, too, sounds very promising. If you survive the journey.”
Demery made a contemplative noise and drank, the bottle still dangling in his other hand.
Behind him, Mary left the fireside and sat on the chaise with Grant, who leaned over and murmured something in her ear. She shook her head and did not reply.
“I’d like to propose an alliance.” Slader cut right to the point. “I want Silvanus Lirr, and he wants your Stormsinger.”
“Oh? How do you know that?” Demery asked, not bothering to deny it. He set the bottle at his feet and leaned back, crossing one leg over the other.
“She’s the common factor in every place he has appeared in the past few months. For whatever reason, Lirr is tracking her in the Other.” Slader made no mention of me and how I had been doing the exact same thing. No need to reveal our advantage.
For me, the secret was even more important. I did not need Mary distrusting me any more than she clearly already did. I needed her to give me back my coin. I wanted more than that. I wanted to explain, to assure her whatever Benedict had told her was a lie. And whatever wrong he had done to her, I needed to rectify it.
“So,” Slader summarized, “since I’m quite sure you will not tell me why he’s following the witch, or allow me to purchase her, join forces with me. Once Lirr is taken, you can go on your way without having to worry about him harrying your back. We both win.”
Demery tapped his fingers on the arm of his chair. “I’m not interested.”
“Then what will you do when Lirr comes upon you?” Slader asked, leaning forward with his glass in hand. “I’ve seen your ship. Harpy is no match for the Nameless. But if we put our guns together, and share your Stormsinger? We can bring him down.”
“My answer is no,” the pirate reaffirmed. He glanced over at Grant and Mary and lifted his chin to the door. Both got to their feet, Grant doing so with an audible sigh.
Slader and Demery rose too.
“You are making a mistake,” Slader warned.
“Trusting a pirate hunter would be a far greater mistake.” Demery joined Grant and Mary at the door. Mary looked back at me, her expression still closed. “Good night, Captain, Mr. Rosser.”
“Mary.” Her name left my lips before I could stop it. I stood, starting towards the door before the pirates reached for weapons—Grant beneath his coat and Demery to his decorative cutlass. Mary glanced between the two of them, seemingly indignant at her own lack of weaponry.
I held out empty hands. “Mary, can I speak with you for one moment? Just one.”
She hesitated, looking almost grieved, then hardened herself. “No, Mr. Rosser.”
With that, she slipped away. The men flanked her, and the door closed.
Silence reigned in the room for a long instant. Stricken, on the edge of bolting after her, I forced myself to still. I could not let Slader see how rattled I was, how desperate I was not only for Mary’s affection, but for what she had stolen. Both were damning.
Slader considered my face as he set his glass aside. He gave a gruff, half-laugh deep in his chest. “I should have seen that coming.”
I battled for dignity. “Pardon me?”
“You’ve fallen for the witch.” Slader gave me a hard look and I braced for the tirade. But to my shock, he simply let out a breath, thumped me on the back, and started for the door. “I’ll have Fisher pick her up before we leave port, then.”
It took a second for his words to pry through my shock. I started after him. “Sir?”
“She’s the key to Lirr,” Slader said. “Demery’s not leaving port with her, and you seem rather… compromised.”
“This is Usti,” I protested, lengthening my strides to join him at the door. “Demery evidently has the favor of the nobility. He is untouchable.”
“You’re a good man, Mr. Rosser.” Slader stepped out into the hallway and headed back towards the light and music and chatter of the ballroom. A dance was just ending—guests stopped on the final note in swirls of skirts and waves of polite chatter.
“Go find something pretty to spend the night with and get yourself together,” the captain continued. “Do not come back to the ship unless you’re ready to do what needs to be done.”
“Sir!” I darted after my captain, but he was already swallowed among the milling couples. “Captain, I—”
A pistol shot split the air. Laughter skewed into startled screams and guests scattered from the dance floor like rats from a dropped torch.
I ducked behind a pillar and reached for my flintlock. Female guards ushered a pair of ladies past me—Queen Inara, presumably, and Lady Phira—while others drew their swords. Then the floor was clear. Slader was nowhere to be seen and only one young man remained in the open space, staring after his fleeing partner with a look of baffled indignation.